Overall this was well-written and thoroughly researched. I think it provided the fullest possible picture considering the limitations of the source material - as Jen states numerous times it is almost impossible to find firsthand accounts of so-called "female husbands". It got a bit samey and dragged on in the middle but overall I think an excellent piece of work on a piece of history that could have been otherwise forgotten.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. As someone who has worked as a library assistant I appreciated the little details that showed the author had researched what it's like to actually work in a library rather than some romanticised idea. Another detail I appreciated *slight spoiler here*

Spoiler

was Mrs B. being revealed to be a lesbian after mentioning multiple times that she'd been involved in the Welsh miners strike - there was a group of lesbians and gay men who supported the miners strike in the 80's, so I appreciated this detail that could otherwise have been overlooked.

It was an easy, quick read that reminded me why I love libraries and working in the library so much.

I love this series but this one didn't quite land for me. The world building was beautiful and I liked the characters. However I felt like I spent more than half the book waiting for it to get to the point and the ending was rushed and anti-climactic. I think as a standalone book it was readable and enjoyable enough, but I think it suffered from the fact that at this point in the series I am so attached to the characters we already have, I don't really want or need new ones.